


Not a Horror Story

by FairyNiamh



Category: Original Work
Genre: Creepypasta, Gen, Horror, Monster of the Week, POV First Person, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-19
Updated: 2014-05-19
Packaged: 2018-01-25 18:30:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1658228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FairyNiamh/pseuds/FairyNiamh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leaving home is supposed to be an event you never forget... Well, I certainly will remember it until the day I die.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not a Horror Story

**Author's Note:**

> Written for my eldest daughter who requested a creepy story. Thanks to Drivven for being a fabulous beta.

The key behind a good horror story is a grain of truth. Which isn't really a problem. The problem lies, in what other people believe to be facts.

I could swear the sky is blue, until well, I am blue in the face; but some people wouldn't believe me. That will be their downfall, because I am honestly trying to warn every one of the dangers around us. This is not a lie. This is not a conspiracy theory. This is me; telling you a story that contains some… uneasy facts.

My story starts with the simple task of moving out of my parents' home. A reason to celebrate, I know. However, this isn't how I expected my move away from home to go. I suppose, that I thought things would be easier and freer away from my parents. I was finally an adult, with adult responsibilities.

My mother had been happy when I announced my move. That was to be expected, I had stayed there throughout college to save my parents a little money and I was just as excited about the move.

My Dad reminded me that I was always welcome there; where my mother sent me off with her crappy mojo herbs and instructions to get my apartment cleansed. Of course, I paid no heed to my mother's words.

The first few weeks were, in a word; blissful. I had friends over almost every night. Small parties and, unless I had to work early, I slept in every morning. I rarely made my bed. In fact, the only time I really made my bed up; was when my mother visited me.

She was not happy with me. I don't know how, but she somehow knew that I hadn't _'cleansed'_ my apartment. When I told her that I didn't believe in all that nonsense… well; she just became sad and left. She warned me that she wouldn’t come back until I had done what she told me.

I scoffed at her as I closed the door. My mother was so superstitious. I wonder if she had known how many of my classmates teased me because of her quirks. Whatever, I was out of her house and I could easily forget about her oddities. Her not coming to my apartment was just another bonus for me.

Well, those were my thoughts last week. This week I would eagerly welcome my mother with open arms.

That night, after my mother had left; the oddities started to happen. When I heard the shuffling in addition, dull thuds from outside my apartment, I listened closely; afraid I would need to call the police about domestic abuse or a burglar.

There were no screams, no crying, and no 'demonic' noises; just noises. Maybe the neighbors were moving out. I knew that their relationship had been a little rocky for a while. None of my business, I just hoped that they finish soon. I did need sleep.

A few hours later the noises stopped. I was finally able to relax enough so that I fell asleep. I'm not sure how long I slept, but it was well past when I had set the alarm. I hurried to get dressed, skipping my morning shower, and rushed to get to work.

Thankfully I was only a few minutes late. All that Manny, my boss did was frown and raise his eyebrow in a silent warning. Really, I have the world's coolest boss.

The rest of my day was extremely mundane and I managed to forget the noises I had heard the night before. After work, I went with a few colleagues to the bar just down the road from work. I settled on just one beer. I was still groggy from the lack of sleep. I was hoping that the single beer was enough to relax my muscles, ease my tension, and allow me a good night's sleep.

The only way I could have been more wrong, was if I had bet that for the Pope's next sermon he would be tap dancing in the nude while kissing a Chihuahua.

My neighbors must have my apartment bugged or something, because as soon as I settled down to go to sleep, the noises and banging started up again.

The longer I lay in bed, the louder they got. I covered my head with my pillow and fell asleep relatively quickly.

When I woke up to my alarm, I just smiled and set my mind to call the Super if my neighbors did it again tonight. No matter their situation, there was no need make the rest of the building suffer.

On the way out, I spied Mark, my neighbor across the hall, getting his morning paper. He looked far worse than I felt. When I smiled in sympathy, his eyes widened; as if in fear and he quickly went back inside without as much as a nod in my direction.

I found his behavior... disturbing. Mark had always been so bright and cheerful. He was quick with a hello and the latest gossip in the building. When I was feeling down; I could always count on him to make a joke or say something outrageous to cheer me up.

I shook off my feelings and made my way to work. I didn't need to be late two days running. Today my boss had decided to punish me for my tardiness yesterday. Well, that was the only reason I could come up with for the task he gave me. He sent me down to the basement to check on the mannequins. I was to see which of them could be repaired and which needed to be thrown away.

He knows that they creep me out. I bet he gets some sick perverted pleasure out of my discomfort. Now that I think about it, I am tempted take back the best boss ever comment, though I know he is far from the worst.

"Is anyone going to help me?" I will admit that, with company, the basement isn't all that bad.

"No, Marla is out with the flu and Daniel is on a sudden vacation. Look, all you have to do is write down which ones can be salvaged and which need to be tossed. You can even use Marla's label maker to mark the bad ones," Manny said with a smile as he walked away.

The first dummy I wanted to mark with Marla's stupid label maker was Manny. He knew I hated the label maker too; I'm much more of a post-it note girl.

With a deep sigh, I made my way to the basement and tried to do the job Danny was usually stuck doing. Of course, all Danny did was light up a joint and pretend to work. Something I knew I would not be able to do.

At the foot of the stairs, I took a deep breath and set the stupid label maker to print out fail. Manny wouldn't be amused, but I was just following his orders.

After an hour of checking these soulless and lifeless human replicas, I heard a noise.

Not just any noise, it was exactly the same kind of noise I had heard coming from my neighbor's apartment.

"Hello," I called out timidly, hoping and praying that someone would say something back, but nothing happened. The noise just got louder and closer.

My palms started to sweat and my heart raced. I knew it couldn't be my neighbors this time and I hadn't told anyone about what had been happening to me. Well, they could both be pranks to make me uneasy.

"C-cut it out, it's not funny anymore," I warned with a shaky voice.

Perhaps that had not been the wisest words I had uttered. The noises stopped, but then I could hear it, a low, inhuman growl. It sounded close, too close in my mind. I didn't know what was making the noise and I didn't want to know. My only concern was putting as much distance between it and me as I could.

I went to the door and tried to open it. Nothing, I mean, the handle wouldn't turn. I tried pulling and beating on the door to no avail.

The growling was getting closer to me. I am not ashamed to say that I was scared witless. Just as the growling got right behind me, the lights flickered out, causing me to let out a small scream in terror. A scream that no one answered.

I held my breath and listened. I could hear a heavy breath between growls. I felt a warm breath across my face and just as I was fixing to scream again, the door opened and Manny was shining a flashlight in.

"Cer, are you alright?" he asked me. "Jesus, you look like you've seen a ghost and you're chilled. Come on, the store is closed until we can get the power back on. Which the electric company is saying will be in a few hours. How are we supposed to run a business with no electricity?"

I mindlessly followed Manny out the door, the drone of his voice doing little to calm me. I wanted to hug him and keep him nearby. My heart was still beating harshly in my chest. When I had managed to calm down, I remembered that there had been nothing in front of me when Manny had shined his light on me.

I know that there had been a breath on my face though. The air had been localized and smelled faintly of rotting meat; something not usually associated with any normal breezes. Not even in basements. It didn't matter, I decided not to ask him if he saw anything. Surely that would make him think I had lost it and I would be fired to ensure the safety of the other employees.

The lights came on just a few minutes before closing. I thanked Manny and made my way to my apartment. I didn't want to be there; not tonight, but I couldn't face my parents either. I'm sure my mother would have told me more about her mumbo jumbo and I didn't need that right then. Not with all the weird shit, that has been happening.

'Maybe food would help settle me,' I thought as I detoured and made my way to my favorite deli; to grab a bite to eat. One of these days, I would need to get myself a refrigerator and have food that wasn't cup ramen and Vienna weenies in the apartment. I sat in my usual spot and chatted with the owner and a few of the regulars. Most of them, myself included, complained about work, the heat, and just… life. I did not complain about things going bump in the night.

It was just what I needed. After a few hours, I had forgotten completely about my work ordeal. Hell, I was even happy.

When I got home, I sat on the couch and blissfully watched a few hours of mindless programs before I began my nightly routine. It wasn't until I was lying in my bed that the events of the day came rushing back in vivid color.

I looked around my bedroom and I felt my heart sink. Just above my bedroom door was a crack. Not a big crack, just six inches long and half an inch wide at most. What was scary was the pair of eyes looking through the crack.

I held my breath as glowing yellowish green eyes narrowed angrily at me. I'm not sure what I had done to upset this... this entity. I cannot think of anything I have done, but Mom had once told me that there were malevolent spirits to counterbalance the benevolent spirits. That neither of them had any true rhyme nor reason for their nature.

I held my breath and squeezed my eyes closed, hoping and praying that it was a figment of my overstressed imagination. Barring that; then that, the entity would forget about me and go away. I didn't have it in me to actually battle with things like this. I have never believed in them.

What good were things that went bump in the night? You can't learn anything more than fear from them. I open my eyes and... I don't know how or why, but the crack and eyes seemed closer. That-that couldn't be though. I didn't move and it's impossible for the door to move.

It's impossible, isn't it? I slammed my eyes closed again and pulled my cover over my head.

I wished I had my cell phone to call my mother. I wished I had listened to her. I was too afraid to look out from my hiding spot. I-I... Oh my god, something was tugging at my covers. No! Please... NO!

…


End file.
